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UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS, 

Agricultural  Experiment  Station 

CHAMPAIGN,  AUGUST,  1892. 


BULLETIN  NO.  22. 


EXPERIMENTS  WITH  WHEAT,  1891-92. 

Some  of  the  results  of  experiments  tried  with  wheat  in  the  season 
1891-92  are  here  given,  with  reference  also  to  like  experiments  of  pre- 
vious years. 

These  experiments  are  reported: 

No.  53.     Effect  of  time  and  manner  of  harvesting  on  yield  of 

wheat. 

No.  65.     Quantity  of  seed. 
No.  66.     Time  of  sowing. 
No.  67.     Depth  of  sowing. 
No.  62  and  69.     Effect  of  fertilizers. 
No.  116.     Test  of  varieties. 

SUMMARY. 

The  following  is  a  summary  of  some  experiments  with  wheat 
made  at  the  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  of  the  University  of  Illi- 
nois, Champaign,  on  fertile,  dark  colored  prairie  soil,  for  the  season 
of  1891-92;  and  of  experiments  made  at  Flora,  Odin,  Belleville,  and 
DuQuoin,  to  test  the  effect  of  manures  on  wheat. 

The  year  1891  was  one  of  unusual  drouth,  continuing  until  Novem- 
ber. The  winter  was  rather  mild,  with  a  fair  rain-fall.  The  spring  of 

1892  was  characterized  by  unusually  heavy  rains. 

105 


io6 


BULLETIN    NO.   22. 


[ August^ 

TEMPERATURE  AND  RAINFALL,  JULY,  1891,  TO  JUNE,  1892. 


1891  and  1892. 

Average  for 
10  years. 

Rain- 
fall. 

Temper- 
ature. 

Rain- 
fall. 

Temper- 
ature. 

July     1801 

1.41 
2.86 

•4i 
1.29 

5.58 
i  53 
•79 
2.64 

2-59 
6.45 
7.86 
536 

70.1 

74 
69.2 

5i-3 
35-7 
37 
19.2 

33 
36.1 
486 

57  9 
70.6 

2-73 
3  45 
3-27 
3  27 
2.76 

2-47 
1.54 
3-42 
2.61 

3-19 
4-45 
5-04 

77-5 
74-6 
66.5 
546 
40.6 
27.1 

22.8 
29.7 

39 
52.4 
64.6 

7i 

August             

September   

October                                      

December  

January,  1892  

March                       

April                             

May            

Tune 

Total  

3877 

38.20 

The  experiments  at  the  Station  were  made  on  soil  which  had  grown 
a  crop  of  oats  in  1891.  The  land  was  plowed  in  August,  was  disked 
twice,  harrowed,  and  rolled  before  seeding.  The  wheat  made  but  feeble 
growth  in  the  autumn.  The  growth  of  straw  in  the  spring  was  heavy. 
Much  of  the  wheat  lodged  badly. 

Variety  Tests.  Sixty  varieties  were  sown  on  one-tenth  acre  plats, 
and  12  of  Carter's  cross-bred  wheats  in  smaller  plats.  None  of  these 
last  were  worth  harvesting.  Several  other  varieties,  generally  of  for- 
eign origin,  failed. 

Fifty-six  plats,  representing  48  varieties  as  named,  gave  an  average 
yield  of  29  bu.  per  acre.  The  largest  yield  was  at  the  rate  of  35.4  bu; 
the  smallest,  16.3  bu.;  the  next  smallest,  22  bu.  Twenty-two  plats 
yielded  at  the  rate  of  over  30  bu.;  six,  less  than  25  bu.  each.  All  of  the 
wheat  was  light  in  weight;  58  Ib.  a  bushel  being  the  highest,  51.25  Ib. 
the  lightest  weight;  the  wheat  from  18  plats  weighing  less  than  55  Ib. 
a  bu. 

Twenty-five  plats  of  bearded  wheat  gave  an  average  yield  of  30.8 
bu.;  28  plats  of  bald  wheat  an  average  of  27.5  bu.  an  acre.  Six  varieties 
were  classed  as  white  wheat.  These  gave  an  average  yield  of  25.8  bu. 
an  acre,  the  largest  yield  being  30.3  bu. 

Of  the  red  bearded  varieties  the  following  gave  yields  of  30  bu.  or 
more  an  acre,  averaging  over  33  bu.:  Hindustan,  Diehl  Mediterranean, 
Deitz,  Tuscan  Island,  Lehigh,  Crate,  Tasmanian  red,  velvet  chaff,  nig- 
ger, golden  cross,  new  longberry  Wabash,  and  Lebanon. 

Of  red  bald  varieties  Poole,  CurrelPs  prolific,  longberry,  and  im- 
proved rice  gave  yields  of  30  to  32  bu.  an  acre. 

Of  white  bald  varieties  golden  prolific  gave  30  bu.,  and  of  the 
white  bearded  Democrat  gave  the  same  yield. 

These  plats  were  drilled  at  the  rate  of  six  pecks  an  acre,  from  Sept. 
25th  to  Sept.  29th. 


1892.] 


WHEAT    EXPERIMENTS,    I, 


IO7 


Thickness  of  Seeding.  Seeding  at  the  rate  of  4  pecks  an  acre  gave 
yields  of  24.7  bu.  an  acre;  5  pecks,  29  bu.;  six,  28  bu.;  eight,  27.8  bu.  In 
a  series  of  years  seeding  at  the  rate  of  from  5  to  6  pecks  an  acre  has 
given  the  best  results. 

Time  of  Solving.  Wheat  sown  Sept.  2d  gave  a  yield  of  29  bu.; 
Sept.  nth,  28.5  bu.;  Sept.  2oth,  28.7  bu.;  Oct.  5th,  27.2  bu.;  Oct.  i3th, 
21.7  bu.  The  yield  of  straw  steadily  decreased  from  earliest  to  latest 
sowing.  In  trials  for  several  years  no  material  difference  has  been 
found  in  the  yields  of  wheat  sown  any  time  in  September. 

Depth  of  Seeding.  Little  difference  in  yield  was  found  when  the 
wheat  was  covered  one  inch  or  three  inches.  That  covered  five  inches 
yielded  considerably  less. 

Effect  of  Fertilizers.  Application  of  stable  manures,  bone  meal, 
and  blood  and  bone  fertilizers  gave  litttle  or  no  increase  in  yield  of 
wheat  on  the  Station  grounds.  In  trials  in  southern  Illinois  stable  man- 
ures produced  a  marked  effect  and  the  other  fertilizers  sufficient  yields  to 
make  further  trials  advisable. 

Effect  of  Time  of  Harvesting.  Harvesting  at  different  stages  of 
ripeness  showed  a  constant  increase  in  both  yield  and  size  of  berry  from 
earliest  up  to  latest.  At  the  latest  date  the  wheat  was  "  dead  "  ripe. 

Experiment  No.  65.      Wheat,  Quantity  of  Seed. 

For  four  successive  years  an  experiment  has  been  tried  to  test  the 
effect  of  sowing  different  quantities  of  seed  per  acre.  In  1891  six 
plats  were  drilled  Oct.  6th  as  nearly  as  practicable  at  the  rates  indicated 
in  the  table,  which  also  gives  the  results.  These  show  that  the  largest 
yield  of  both  grain  and  straw  came  from  seeding  at  the  rate  of  five 
pecks  per  acre. 

The  average  results  from  duplicate  plats  for  each  of  the  four  years 
are  given  in  a  second  table.  In  no  year  has  there  been  any  remarkable 
variation  in  yield  caused  by  difference  in  rate  of  seeding,  unless  1891  be 
an  exception.  In  that  year  there  was  an  extreme  difference  of  over 
seven  bushels  per  acre. 

For  two  years  the  stubs  after  cutting  have  been  counted  on  several 
square  feet  on  each  plat.  Considerable  variation  has  been  shown,  but 
the  numbers  have  not  in  all  cases  varied  with  the  rate  of  seeding. 

YIELD  OF  WHEAT  FROM  DIFFERENT  AMOUNTS  OF  SEED,  1891-2. 


~ 
p 

? 

Rate  of  seeding. 

Wt.  100 
kernels, 
grams. 

Stubs  per 
sq.  ft. 

Lb. 
per 
bu. 

Yield  per  acre. 

Straw, 
Ib. 

Grain, 
bu. 

62 

63 
64 

65 

66 
46 

6  pecks  per   acre  ....  .... 

2.4 
2.76 
2.82 

2.8 

2.86 

2.58 

54 
61 

54 
4i 

53 
54 
55-25 
55 
55 
55-25 

2,950 
3,140 
3.357 
2-575 
2,670 
3-230 

25.8 
26 
29 
24.7 
27.8 
26.8 

6  pecks  per  acre 

5  pecks  per  acre 

4  pecks  per  acre  

8  pecks  per  acre  

!  6  pecks  per  acre  (small  seed) 

46 

loS 


BULLETIN    NO.    22. 


[August, 


YIELD  OF  WHEAT  FROM  DIFFERENT  AMOUNTS  OF  SEED,  1888-9  T°  l! 
DUPLICATE  PLATS. 


Seed  per 
acre, 
pecks. 

Yield  per  acre. 

1888-9. 

1889-90.             1889-91. 

i 

1891-92. 

Average. 

Straw, 
Ib 

Grain, 
bu. 

Straw, 
Ib. 

Grain, 
bu. 

Straw, 
Ib. 

Grain, 
bu. 

Straw, 
Ib. 

Grain, 
bu. 

Straw, 
Ib. 

Grain, 
bu. 

3 

4 

6 
8 

2,215 
2,620 
2,740 

2,200 
2,740 

24.6 
28.2 
26.3 
24-5 
28.3 

4,140 
4,400 
4,080 
4,980 
5,100 

22 

23-7 
22.2 
28.3 

26  8 

3-177 
3.539 
3,719 
3,822 
3,762 

23-3 

28.2 
28.9 
28.8 
29  6 

4,560 
4,700 
4-750 
4-54° 

36.2 
38.3 
363 
35-4 

2,575 
3-357 
3,045 
2,670 

24-7 
29 
25  9 
27.8 

Experiment  No.  66.      Wheat,  Time  of  Sowing. 

Trials  of  the  influence  on  yield  of  grain  and  straw  of  sowing 
wheat  at  different  dates  have  been  made  for  four  years.  In  the  trials 
for  1891-92,  the  land  used  had  produced  a  large  crop  of  oats  in  1891.  It 
was  plowed  during  August.  Each  plat  was  disked  twice,  harrowed, 
and  rolled  just  before  the  wheat  was  drilled  in.  While  all  the  plats 
made  but  feeble  growth  during  the  autumn  because  of  the  drouth,  the 
earlier  sown  made  the  best  growth  and  appeared  most  vigorous  in  the 
spring. 

'  YIELD  OF  WHEAT  FROM  SOWINGS  AT  DIFFERENT  DATES,  1891-92. 


Plat 

When  har- 

Stubs per 

Wt.iooo 

Lb.  per 

Yield  p 

er  acre. 

No. 

vested. 

sq.  ft. 

grams. 

bu. 

Straw,  Ib. 

Grain,  bu. 

76 

Sept    2 

Tulv    7. 

CI 

27  6 

56 

3,495 

2Q  I 

Sept    ii 

July    7. 

cc 

26  6 

ss 

3,238 

28  4 

78 

7Q 

Sept.  21  
Oct    ^. 

July  13  

Tulv  13.  .. 

57 
50 

276 

27 

55 
55 

2,861 
2,658 

26.7 
27.2 

80 

Oct.    13  

July  13  

47 

55-5 

2,003 

21.7 

YIELD  OF  WHEAT  FROM  SOWINGS  AT  DIFFERENT  DATES,  1889  TO  1892. 


1889. 

1890. 

1891. 

1892. 

Average 

C/3 

O 

^ 

fn 

O 

g. 

O 

CO 

O 

?r 

CD    «d 

C/3 

O 

x* 

Date  of 

I 

§    ~ 

P 

P 

"t    ^ 

D      rl- 

P 

P 

e. 

3< 

P 

3    _«- 

Sowing. 

3 

-° 

sr  w 

S 

—    ' 

P 

P 

-w    O 

3 

a 

37  M 

cr 

cr 

B 

38 

cr 

cr 

?8 

cr 

cr 

cr 

c 

^8 

CT" 

cr 

z 

OQ    0 

Sept.  2  

Ao  9 

3495 

20.  1 

27  6 

Sept    11-12 

3750 

32  4 

-1A     * 

36  I 

3238:  28  4 

26  6  ^4Q4    32  3 

3O  4 

Sept    21-23   . 

4570 

38   2 

36  4 

3170 

29  I 

74  c 

34  5 

2861  26  7 

27  6  26^0  32  i 

7?  8 

Sept.  29-Oct.   5  

4505 

40.4 

34-8 

2450 

20.8 

336 

36.4 

2658  27.2 

27 

3204    31.2    31.8 

Oct.  8-15  13905 

36.1 

33.9  17101  12.  i 

30 

34-i 

2003  21.7  12539  26 

3i-9 

The  table  gives  the  dates  of  seeding  and  the  yield  of  each  plat,  both 
of  straw  and  of  grain,  the  weight  of  1,000  kernels  from  each  plat,  and 
like  facts  from  the  trials  in  previous  years.  In  no  year  was  there  any 
remarkable  difference  in  yield  of  grain  between  the  plats  sown  any  time 


1892.] 


WHEAT    EXPERIMENTS, 


1891-2. 


109 


in  September.     (The  yield  of  the  earliest  sown  plat  in   1891  was  some- 
what decreased  by  the  effect  of  shade  of  trees  near  by.) 

The  yield  of  straw  has  generally  decreased  from  the  first  to  the  last 
sowing. 

Experiment  No.  67.      Wheat,  Depth  of  Solving. 

To  compare  the  growth  and  yield  of  wheat  sown  at  different  depths 
nine  rows  12  in.  apart,  each  one  rod  long,  were  planted  Oct.  8,  1891,  each 
row  with  198  kernels  of  selected  seed  wheat,  or  one  kernel  to  each  inch 
in  the  rows.  The  seed  in  rows  i,  2,  and  3  was  covered  one  inch  deep;  in 
rows  4,  5,  and  6,  three  inches;  in  7,  8,  and  9,  five  inches.  An  extra 
row  was  planted  on  each  side  of  the  plat.  The  wheat  made  but  feeble 
growth  in  the  autumn  and  April  ist  was  in  poor  condition.  It  was  cut 
July  I4th,  when  it  was  all  ripe  and  all  standing. 

The  table  gives  details  of  the  results. 

There  were  considerable  variations  in  the  rows  covered  to  the  same 
depth.  In  no  case  did  much  more  than  one-third  of  the  kernels  pro- 
duce plants  which  came  to  maturity.  The  average  number  of  straws  in 
each  stool  was  low,  five  being  the  highest  in  any  one  row.  While  the 
yields  of  adjoining  rows  varied  more  than  the  yields  from  planting 
at  different  depths,  slightly  the  best  results  came  from  the  three  rows 
covered  one  inch  deep.  A  like  result  was  found  in  the  year  previous. 

The  unsatisfactory  results  usually  obtained  from  experiments  in 
which  only  small  numbers  of  plants  or  animals  are  used  is  well  illus- 
trated in  this  table. 

YIELD  OF  WHEAT  FROM  SOWINGS  AT  DIFFERENT  DEPTHS,  1891-92. 


Row 
No. 

Depth 
planted. 

No. 
stools. 

No.  smut 
heads. 

No. 
straws. 

Wt.    straw, 
grams. 

Wt.    grain, 
grams. 

Wt.HHi'l  kernels, 
grams. 

i 

One  in. 

58 

10 

304 

501.8 

205.4 

27 

2 

" 

72 

23 

324 

554-8 

242.4 

28 

3 

" 

70 

29 

350 

613.8 

267.8       ,         28 

4 

Three  in. 

71 

20 

348 

604  5 

268 

27 

5 

•  • 

58 

21 

243 

423-9 

185.5 

27.8 

6 

1  • 

47 

16 

303 

5834 

241.6 

27.1 

7 

Five  in. 

44 

18 

181 

333  i 

133-4 

263 

8 

" 

56 

19 

260 

491.2 

202.8 

28.2 

9 

39 

7 

1  68 

343-5 

141.6 

27.2 

Experiment  No.  62.      Wheat,  Effect  of  Fertilizers.    [At  Station.] 

The  effect  of  different  kinds  of  manures  on  wheat  has  been  tried  on 
the  Station  grounds  for  four  years. 

For  the  season  of  1891  eight  plats  were  used,  each  one-fourth  of  an 
acre  in  extent.  On  each  of  two  plats  100  Ib.  bone  meal  was  applied; 
on  each  of  two  others  100  Ib.  bone  and  blood.  These  manures  were 
sown  broadcast  by  hand  Oct.  yth,  immediately  before  the  wheat  was 
sown.  In  January,  1892,  five  loads  of  rather  coarse  and  strawy  manure 
mostly  from  the  horse  stables,  was  applied  to  one  plat.  On  three  plats 
no  manure  was  applied.  No  appreciable  difference  in  the  condition  of 


no 


BULLETIN    NO.    22. 


[August, 


the  wheat  on  the  different  plats  was  observed  either  in  the  autumn  or 
early  spring.  The  table  gives  the  results. 

While  there  are  considerable  differences  in  the  yields  of  the 
plats,  these  are  believed  to  be  owing  more  to  the  differences  in  soil 
than  to  the  effect  of  manures  applied.  The  plats  were  each  2x20  rods. 
Plats  68  and  72,  69  and  73,  70  and  74,  and  71  and  75  were  side  by  side. 
Except  in  plats  70  and  74  there  was  in  no  case  a  difference  of  one  bushel 
per  acre  in  the  yield  of  the  plats  of  any  pair  of  plats.  In  this  case  the 
plat  to  which  nothing  had  been  applied  yielded  at  the  rate  of  3.2  bu.  per 
acre  more  than  the  adjoining  plat  on  which  manure  had  been  applied. 
The  wheat  on  the  plat  to  which  barn  yard  manure  was  applied  lodged 
much  more  than  that  on  the  adjoining  plat. 

The  application  to  wheat  of  no  form  of  the  commercial  fertilizers 
yet  tested  at  the  Station  has  proved  profitable. 

Samples  of  the  two  commercial  fertilizers  used5  as  analyzed  by  E. 
H.  Farrington,  Chemist  of  the  Station,  had  the  following  composition: 


Bone  meal. 

Nitrogen 3.42 

Total  phosphoric  acid 26.23 

Available lo-°3 

Insoluble l^-2 


Bone  and  blood. 

5-67 
15.48 

7.14 
8-34 


YIELD  OF  WHEAT  FROM  FERTILIZED  PLATS,  1891-92. 


Plat 

No. 

Fertilizer. 

Per  cent  stand- 
ing at  harvest. 

No.  of  stubs, 
per  i  sq.  ft. 

Grain   per  acre, 
bu. 

68 
72 
60 

100  Ib,  bone  meal  .... 
5  loads  barnyard  manure  
Nothing 

67 

25 

yc 

50 
46 

25-3 

25 
26.7 

73 
70 

74 

100  Ib.  bone  meal  
100  Ib.  bone  and  blood 
Nothing.  

50 
0 

5 

56 
54 
56 

27.2 
26.1 
29.3 

71 

Nothing  

IOO 

38 

23 

75 

100  Ib.  bone  and  blood 

TOO 

45      • 

22.8 

Experiment  No.  69.    Wheat,  Effect  of  Fertilizers.     [Southern  Illinois.] 

For  four  years  past  trials  of  different  commercial  fertilizers  for 
wheat  have  been  made  at  different  places  in  the  southern  part  of  the  state, 
Flora,  Odin,  Nashville,  Belleville,  and  DuQuoin.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  the  land  near  Belleville,  all  the  trials  have  been  on  the  level,  light 
colored  soils,  with  very  compact  sub-soils,  characteristic  of  central  south- 
ern Illinois. 

For  1891  and  1892  the  experiments  were  tried  on  the  farms  of  W. 
W.  Bowler,  Flora;  A.  M.  Woodward,  Odin;  H.  Horn,  DuQuoin;  and 
Fred  Helms,  Belleville.  Mr.  Helms'  farm  is  naturally  very  fertile. 

In  each  case  eight  one-fourth  acre  plats  were  laid  off  side  by  side 
in  fields  to  be  sown  with  wheat.  The  plats  were  long  and  narrow. 


IS92.] 


WHEAT    EXPERIMENTS, 


1891-2. 


The  fertilizers  were  applied  as  follows: 

To  plat  No.  i,  5  loads  stable  manure. 
"     "       "     2,  nothing. 
«»     "       "     3,  100  Ih.  bone  meal. 
"     "       "     4,  100  Ib.  blood  and  bone. 
"     «       "     5,  nothing. 
u     "       "     6,  100  Ib.  bone  meal. 
"     "       "     7,  100  Ib.  blood  and  bone. 
"     "       "     8,  nothing. 

The  bone  meal  and  blood  and  bone  were  the  same  as  used  in  Experi- 
ment No.  62. 

In  general  the  soil  of  the  different  tracts  seemed  uniform.  Aside  from 
the  fertilizing,  the  treatment  of  all  the  plats  was  the  same  throughout. 

The  table  gives  the  results,  which,  are  not  uniform  at  the  different 
places,  nor  in  accordance  with  the  experience  in  previous  years.  As  in 
former  years,  the  plats  with  barnyard  manure  gave  the  best  results,  ex- 
cept at  Flora.  At  Odin  the  yield  from  the  plat  to  which  stable  manure 
was  applied  was  at  the  rate  of  14  bu.  in  excess  of  the  plats  to  which  the 
commercial  fertilizers  were  applied,  and  nearly  17  bu.  more  than  the 
average  of  the  plats  to  which  nothing  was  applied.  In  all  four  cases 
the  stable  manure  produced  a  marked  increase  of  yield  over  that  from 
the  unmanured  plats,  the  average  yield  from  the  four  plats  treated  with 
stable  manure  being  at  the  rate  of  28.5  bu.  per  acre,  while  that  from  the 
12  plats  having  no  manure  was  at  the  rate  of  iS.8  bu.  per  acre.  The 
average  yield  of  the  16  plats  to  which  commercial  fertilizers  had  been 
applied  was  at  the  rate  of  24  bu.  per  acre;  the  yield  of  the  eight  plats 
receiving  blood  and  bone  averaged  25.1  bu.  per  acre;  that  of  the  eight 
plats  receiving  bone  meal  averaged  22.8  bu.  per  acre. 

A  considerable  variation  is  shown  in  the  yield  of  the  different  plats 
treated  with  the  same  fertilizers,  as  well  as  in  the  plats  without  any  fer- 
tilizer. 

At  Odin  the  two  plats  to  which  bone  meal  was  applied  gave  a  less 
yield  than  the  three  to  which  nothing  had  been  applied,  while  each  of 
the  two  plats  to  which  bone  and  blood  had  been  applied  gave  a  much 
larger  yield  than  either  one  of  those  to  which  nothing  had  been  applied. 

As  a  whole  these  results  are  more  favorable  to  the  use  of  these 
commercial  fertilizers  than  those  in  any  other  years.  As  in  each  of  the 
former  years,  these  results  emphasize  the  great  value  of  stable  manure. 

YIELD  PER  ACRE,  Bu.,  FROM  FERTILIZED  AND  UNFERTILIZED  PLATS,  1891-2. 


No.  of  plat. 

i 

3 

6 

4      ! 

7                      2       1      5       !       8 

Aver- 
age. 

T-     ,•!•                 Barnvard  „                 ,     Blood  and      afrp 
Fertlllzer'          manure.   Bone  meal"       bone.             g 

Nothing. 

Flora  

T9-3 
3i-7 
24-5 
385 

20.5 
15-1 
24 
35-9 

15-3 
13-3 

21 
378 

22.3 

23.3 

24 

35-2 

19        *9-3 

19        17.7 

22            22.7 

36  3     30-3 

166    i    13.3 

15-9   i    15-7 
16.      i    17 
28.7        32.1 

12.9 

12.7 

14 
30.2 

14-3 
14  8 

15-7 
30-3 

Odin  

DuQuoin  

Belleville  

Average  

28.5           22.8               25.1             24                                               18  8 

112  BULLETIN    NO.    22.  \AugUSt, 

Experiment   No.  116.      Wheat,     Test  of   Varieties. 

To  compare  the  yield  and  other  qualities  of  varieties,  62  plats  of 
one-tenth  of  an  acre  each  were  sown  from  Sept.  25  to  Sept.  29,  1891, 
with  what  were  named  as  varieties,  with  duplicates,  and  with  four  mix- 
tures, each  of  several  varieties  possessing  similar  qualities.  These  plats 
were  in  the  same  field  as  that  in  which  all  the  other  experiments  with 
wheat  at  the  Station  were  tried,  and  the  preparation  of  the  soil  was  the 
same  as  reported  in  those  experiments.  The  rate  of  seeding  in  each 
case  was  six  pecks  per  acre,  as  nearly  as  practicable. 

Most  of  the  varieties  were  obtained  from  the  Ohio  Agricultural  Ex- 
periment Station,  at  Columbus.  A  few  came  from  the  Pennsylvania 
Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  at  State  College,  and  a  few  from  dif- 
ferent individuals.  In  a  number  of  cases  samples  of  wheat  received  under 
different  names  very  closely  resemble  each  other,  not  only  in  kernel  but 
in  stalk,  head,  time  of  ripening,  and  yield. 

In  addition  to  these  varieties  twelve  cross  bred  varieties,  originated 
by  Carter,  of  London,  England,  the  seed  of  which  had  been  received  in 
1890  and  sown  that  autumn,  were  sown  in  smaller  plats.  The  seed  as 
received  from  England  was  very  attractive,  the  kernels  being  large, 
plump,  and  of  good  color.  The  product  at  the  first  harvest  was  unsatis- 
factory, all  the  varieties  maturing  too  late  to  make  them  desirable,  and 
the  kernels  being  much  shriveled.  All  the  varieties  failed  almost  en- 
tirely in  the  second  season's  trial.  No  one  of  the  plats  was  worth 
harvesting  and  in  several  of  them  scarcely  any  heads  were  produced. 

The  tables  give  the  results  of  these  trials.  The  date  of  ripening, 
yields  both  of  straw  and  grain,  and  the  weight  per  bushel  of  nearly 
all  the  varieties  tested  here  are  given  from  the  reports  of  the  trials 
of  the  same  varieties  for  the  same  season  at  the  Ohio  Station,  at 
Columbus,  and  for  ten  varieties  from  the  report  of  the  tests  at  the 
Indiana  Station,  at  LaFayette.  It  is  noticeable  that  without  exception 
the  time  of  ripening  of  any  given  variety  was  several  days  later  at  this 
Station  than  at  either  of  the  others,  in  several  cases  the  difference  being 
from  ten  to  thirteen  days.  The  wheat  harvest  in  this  vicinity  was 
unusually  late  in  1892.  In  the  case  of  a  number  of  varieties  the 
yields  at  the  different  stations  are  quite  uniform;  in  others,  there  are 
striking  differences. 

At  this  Station  the  average  yield  of  the  plats  was  good,  56  plats 
giving  an  average  yield  of  29  bu.  per  acre.  The  largest  yield  was 
35.4  bu.  per  acre.  With  one  exception,  no  plat  gave  less  than  22 
bu.  per  acre.  Twenty-two  plats  gave  yields  of  over  30  bu.  per  acre 
each,  only  6  less  than  25  bu.  each.  The  wheat  was  all  of  inferior 
quality  as  judged  by  appearance  as  well  as  weight,  that  from  no  plat 
exceeding  58  Ib.  per  bu.  The  weight  of  these  varieties,  as  grown 
at  the  Ohio  and  Indiana  stations,  averaged  somewhat  higher,  but  was 
less  than  the  weights  in  other  years. 


1892.]  WHEAT     EXPERIMENTS,     1891-2.  113 

Twenty-five  plats  of  bearded  wheat  gave  an  average  yield  of 
30.8  bu.  an  acre;  28  plats  of  bald  wheat,  an  average  of  27.5  bu. 

Six  varieties  were  classed  as  white  wheat.  These  gave  an  average 
yield  of  25.8  bu.  an  acre,  the  largest  yield  being  30.3  bu. 

Of  the  white  bald  varieties,  golden  prolific  gave  30  bu.  and 
of  the  white  bearded,  Democrat  gave  the  same  yield. 

Of  the  red  bearded  varieties,  the  following  gave  yields  of  30 
bu.  or  more  an  acre,  averaging  over  33  bu. :  Hindustan,  35.4;  Diehl 
Mediterranean,  35.1;  Deitz,  34.5;  Tuscan  Island,  34.1;  Lehigh,  34.4; 
Crate,  33.7;  Tasmania,  red,  33.4;  velvet  chaff,  33.4;  Nigger,  31.6; 
golden  cross,  32.2;  new  longberry  Wabash,  30.7,  and  Lebanon,  30.6. 
Of  the  red  bald  varieties,  Poole,  Currell's  prolific,  longberry,  and 
improved  rice  gave  yields  of  30  to  32  bu.  an  acre. 

Four  mixtures  designated  in  the  table  (p.  118)  as  #,  b,  c,  and  «?,  were 
made  of  varieties  which,  in  appearance  and  in  description  of  other 
characteristics,  seemed  much  alike.  These  mixtures  were  composed 
of  equal  parts  of  the  following  varieties: 

Mixture  #,  velvet  chaff  [Penquite's]  Lehigh,  Hindustan,  Tasmanian 
red,  Nigger,  Diehl  Mediterranean,  Tuscanlsland,  Miami  Valley,  long 
berry  Wabash,  bearded  monarch,  and  Fairfield. 

Mixture  b,  Wyandot  red,  Poole,  Witter,  Sheriff,  Hicks,  Fultz, 
Currell's  prolific,  Oregon,  long  berry,  and  early  ripe. 

Mixture  c,  Russian  red,  improved  rice,  extra  early  Oakley,  and 
Crate. 

Mixture  d,  Deitz,  Lebanon,  and  Theiss. 

In  each  case  the  yield  of  grain  per  acre  from  the  mixture  was 
greater  than  the  average  yield  from  the  varieties  composing  it,  and 
in  all  but  one  the  pounds  of  straw  and  pounds  per  bushel  were  greater. 
The  increased  yields  from  the  mixtures  over  the  average  yields  from 
their  components  was  2.5,  2,  2.4,  and  2.8  bushels  per  acre  for  mixtures 
#,  b,  c,  and  d,  respectively. 

The  results  of  tests  of  varieties  for  one  year  can  not  be  considered 
at  all  conclusive.  In  view  of  the  reasonably  close  agreement  in  behavior 
of  varieties  treated  this  year  at  this  Station  and  at  the  Ohio  Station 
(p.  116),  where  a  number  of  the  varieties  have  been  grown  for  several 
years,  the  recommendations  contained  in  the  report  of  the  Ohio  Station 
for  1892  is  given: 

"Judging  from  the  experience  of  this  and  former  years,  we 
recommend  the  following  sorts  of  wheat  as  probably  the  safest  for 
general  culture  throughout  Ohio:  Valley,  Fultz,  velvet  chaff  [Pen- 
quite's] Egyptian,  and  Nigger.  Diehl  Mediterranean,  under  its  various 
names,  has  given  good  yields  on  this  farm  and  in  favored  localities,  but 
cannot  be  recommended  for  general  culture,  and  the  same  may  be  said 
of  Martin's  amber  and  its  synonyms  Landreth  and  silver  chaff.  Rudy, 
Deitz,  Poole,  Currejl's  prolific,  early  red  Clawson,  Hicks,  and  Jones's 
winter  fife,  are  worthy  of  further  trial." 


BULLETIN    NO.    22. 


WHEAT—  VARIETY  TESTS,  1891-92. 

Per  cent 

standing  at 
harvest. 

0 

88^^888 

Or-»OOloOOOOOOOOoorOPOinOOOOOO 

M                                           MM                        MM                                                    MMMM 

1    I 

CO 

M  vO  O    N    ro  vn 

N^-^NOO^t-MfON         MO   ^rt-rorot-OmM   M   t- 

N  oo  oo  J^o  moc 

O  co   o   ^-co   mMvo  t^O  NOO  loono  o\  -^-co  vo  o  r^  ^co 

ex       js 

1     1 

£      M 

g 

^  c^oo   in  Ti*  ro  c^ 

00    H*  O    ^"  ^  N    G1 

w    ^  t^OO  OO    O    C^    O  N    Q\  O    fO  lOCO    O^  n    M    N    vr>  M    ^  ro  ^~ 
NO    OOO    M    M    TfrOCO    lOPOiOM    IOM    MVO    OM    OM    c^ 

Q\  r^  ro  !O  ro  o  N   0s)   CT*  oo   t^  ^~  ro  M   i--*  ^"00   LO  O    ^"  CT»  ro  o 

N   N   ro  co  co  M   N   N   N   ro  oo  ro  ^"  ro  ro  N   N   N   ro  co  co  ^  N   ro  N   ro  ro  co  N   N   N 

& 
a 

tx 

m' 

t^»  t^       N  N  m  t~- 
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!       N^m^Nin       mm            m  N  N  N  m  m  N  m  m  £  £ 

in  PO  ^-  N   -3-0   ^o   -^-  TJ-  in  in  M  in  ino   TJ-  mo   ro  -^-  in  in 

No.  stubs 
on  i  sq.ft. 

N 

•*•  i>-  inoo  N   Tt-o 

oo   c^  O  t^.  TJ-  o\  TJ-OO  m  N  N  M  inoo  ONmrnNoo   cr>O  M  >, 

•^-  t>.o   -<j-mrt-n-roTi-       TJ-TJ-            TJ-       Tt-m^-Tj-m^Tj- 

Wt.    100 
kernels, 
grams. 

N 

•^-  -«f  N  "*•       •* 

o  o 

t^  r^  M   TJ-  c^  in  N  moo  m  ino  t^oo  in  -;i-oo  ro  N  in  c^  o  t^» 

NNNNNNNNNNOONNNrONNNNNMNNNNNNNfOCON 

°   <*H   "S 

"o  o  S 

U      .3 

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S-d 

^T3                                                                                   ^T3 

"""pG^'"                                               **                            •&  M  ~ 

33 
If! 

pq  o 

5 

2 

•—  i            (D                                                       (U  *""•            <U                                  (D 

^eSa>~         "S'"S^-SSw"      'S'wSw 

m      CQ                                   CQ  t^      CQ                     CQ           W 

Ht.,  in. 

N 

CTIOO  o  t^  r^oo  M 

00    ^l-^J-O    mroo    "^  ^  ^  t^O    ro  O^  O  O    •*•  M    rooo    >O  TJ-  O 
^-mininininminmintninm  mo   ^jninminininm 

Cut,    July     ° 

N    N    N    N     ^"  M    l-i 

MCvNNNCNMMMMMOONO^ONMMMMOJOMM 

Ripe,  July 

* 

MMMM               M                                  MM                                           MMMM               M 

1 
u 

0 
C/3 

;   ;;;•:;§   ;  jj  i  [ill  H  i| 

....  Ohio  Experiment  Station  .  .  . 

G                        "S         G        "2   C                                                    G 

I     .2                S     .2   .  8  .2                          °     .2 

•    ^              S.    ^     &*,                      S*    ^ 

S    |            wgSwS                     wg 

>O                          G>oGO                                           GO 

'5     15                 S  'G  IS      S  15                            S     IS 
D     0                 CuPO     OnO                            PH     0 

1 

•8 

0) 

ti 

I                              -G 
Cu 

*            £l 

I                   '^ao, 

z*      «!•= 

£  •  n  jS  N  £  «  3^ 

>->  <u  o  ••*  .'tj  S  ,J2  *-" 

::  J  ::  -3  ::  :.-'::::::::::  2 

i|:il       i   Ij       ilJ   '  -g  :§ 

i|i  *U  ^LIH. 

Plat  No.     M 

N  ro  TJ-  mo  r-»oo 

^  O   M   IN   ro  TJ-  ino   t^oo   CTI  O   M   N   ro  ^  mo   t^oo    (^  O   ro 

1892.] 


WHEAT    EXPERIMENTS,     1891-2, 


o   o   o  c>  PO  o 


PO  O  N  m  r^  •<*• 


N    TJ-  ro  io  N 


HI    t^  O    ••*•  O    HI    POCO  OO    too 


o   i^  t^  ioco 


M  00    t^  10   M     N 


oo  Tt-vo  oo   TJ-O       oo   Tt-       n-  «i-oc  oo  oo       o  o        f  t-  N 

t^O   00     PO   M    W  IOOO    ^   POO     to  N    POO   00  00  N     ^  to 


pel 


a     a 


2 
*e3  -  " 

CQ 


o  co  o  o 


:c 

s:l 


0)    O 

11 


IS- 

S-w 

=1 

£o 


W  S 


.2-    - 

ii 

00 


:.a-g<2£ 


W  Q  5  Q  K 


wo 
a 


" 


3    CU     • 


0)       •    4J 

ll?i 


il jflli II  Si llllllll||l|ll| 


-^t^t^N  101-^ 
to  to  toO  oo  O 


116 


BULLETIN    ISTO.    22. 


[August, 


Indiana. 

Lb.  per  bu. 

.    .    .        .    .        •            •    .    •    •            

<D 

£ 

3 

IS 

Grain,   bu. 

•       •       .m«'PO«fON««--POCO      

Straw,  Ib. 

.  o\    .    .  M     .  N  o\    .                 M  in 
.     .     .N..O.vOfi....>no     

•   ^~         .rr).ri^Tl"....Ti"rr>    

Ripe,  June  28 
to  July  i. 

•     •     •                                                   •     •               •     •          •     • 

;••«>••  o>  -co  «    ;•;•  oo    

0 

Lb.  per  bu. 

in-                           m       m  m    •                  m  m       m  m  m                 m 

mm    -inininmininininin    »oinminvnininin  ino  in  in  in 

Yield,  acre. 

Grain,  bu. 

O^  N    t"^  **3~          OJ    C^  M    t^  ^~O    N    "^"          N    M    t^O           ^*  PO          CS     M     M     M 

o  rt-  M  o  o   o  ino  oo  N  ininmo  ino<  t-~o   •^-vnt^r^t^-N  t^o 

Straw,  Ib. 

M  PO  N  !n  r^  t^.  r^  o  r^  ^^  t^-  oo     .  "*3~  ^o  o  PO  PO  O  o^  M  in  o   o   ^t* 

PO<SNPONM<SPONN<M<N       ;<NN(N(SNNPnNrO(N(NN<S 

Ripe,  June  30 
to  July  6. 

o.^^oo.^,,.    iM«o*««o«««««, 

||  Illinois. 

Lb.  per  bu. 

minin       inin                 in       inin                 «n       inmin       in       in 
t^t^t^       MNmin       c^mt^Minin       c^inN<NN"~>Ninr^in 

<D 
§ 

Grain,  bu. 

N  o  vo  N  M  mm«  t^woo   Tj-t^w        N  vo  t^  Tf-f^  t^o^  rot^c< 

M    <s  OO  00    t^vO    »n  t^  O    O    -^-OO    POM    O    MO    inPOO    C^OO  VO    ONOO    N 

Straw,  Ib. 

O  t^  t^OO    "~>  -^-  POVO    NOVOVO     M     MOO     inc<ir1NlOMO     O>MM    O 

M    N    POCOPOM    M    PON    POPO^POPON    POPOPOTj-N    POPOPOPON    CO 

Ripe  July  6-14. 

cnc.N^Nm^M^MroNOM^MMO.^ONO^^NON^ 

. 

tfl.SJOcrO>0 


0    e 


Cu 
Sh 
H 
F 


WHEAT    EXPERIMENTS,     1891-2. 


117 


'ilfllllilljbli 

fl  5    0)OjG    <U    O    rt    D    3    3    (U-S.i 


T3  .t; 


nS 


BULLETIN 


[August, 


WHEAT — YIELDS  OF  MIXTURES,  1891-92. 


Components  of  mixture  a. 
Velvet  chaff  [Penquite's] 

Wt.  100 
kernels, 
grams. 

2-54 
3.38 
3-24 

2-9 

3  24 
3-47 
3-64 

2-7 

3-i8 

2-5 

2.4 

Lb.  per 

bu. 

Yield  per  acre. 

Straw,  Ib.  Grain,  bu. 

56-25    - 
55-75 
55-25 
56.75 
54-5 
57-75 
57-5 
54-75 
54-25 
53-5 
52.5 

3-9io 

3,873 
4,085 

3-835 

3,212 
3,306 

3,277 
4,368 

3-307 

3-4U 
3-568 

33-4 
34-4 
35-4 
33-4 
3i-7 
35-1 
34-i 
28.8 

30.7 
29-3 
24.2 

Lehigh  

Hindustan  

Tasmanian  red  

N  igger  

Diehl  Mediterranean  . 

Tuscan  Island  

Miami  Valley  

Longberry  Wabash  

Bearded  monarch.  

Fairfield  

Average  of  above  

.3-02           55.3 

3650             31.9 

Yield  from  mixture  of  seed  

3.28      58 

3,404 

33-4 

Components  of  mixture  b. 
Wyandot  red  

2-7 

2.78 

2.22 
2.6 
2-74 
2-44 
2.52 
2.38 
2.56 

2-74 

55 
56.5 
52.25 

52.75 
56.75 
55 
55-75 
55-5 
54-5 
55-75 

2,921 
3,007 

3,453 
2,871 

3,179 
3,687 
2,991 
3-562 
2,889 
2,923 

30.2 
32.2 
27.2 

22.2 
28.6 
28.6 

31 
28.7 
30.2 
28 

Poole  

Witter  

Sheriff       

Hicks  

Fultz  

Currell's  prolific  

Oregon  

Longberry  

Early  ripe  

Average  of  above  

2.57 

55 

3,i4« 

28.7 

Yield  from  mixture  of  seed  

2.38 

57 

3-730 

30  7 

Components  of  mixture  c. 
Russian  red  

2.76 
2.52 
2.42 
2.84 

55-75 
55-25 
56.25 
55-25 

2,924 
2,759 
3-4II 
4,128 

28.7 
30.4 
29-3 
33-7 

Improved  rice  

Extra  early  Oakley.  . 

Crate  

Average  of  above  

2.63 

55-62 

3,305 

30  5 

Yield  from  mixture  of  seed  

2.6 

55-25 

3.641 

32  9 

Components  of  mixtttre  d. 
Deitz  

3 
3-34 

2.20 

55 
57-25 
'  !  55-25 

3-948 
3,451 
3,612 

34-5 
30.6 
26.4 

Lebanon  

Theiss  

Average  of  above  

2.87 

55-8 

3-670      1       30.5 

Yield  from  mixture  of  seed  2.86 

56.5 

3-703             33-3 

IS92.] 


WHEAT    EXPERIMENTS,     I 


-2. 


Experiment  No.  fj.      The  Effect  of  the  time  and  Manner  oj 
Harvesting  on  the   field  of  Wheat. 

Three  cuttings,  of  nine  samples  each,  were  made  for  the  years 
1891  .and  '92,  each  sample  containing  200  spikes.  The  heads  were 
removed  from  three  samples  of  each  cutting,  and  both  straw  and  heads 
were  placed  in  the  drying  room.  Three  were  stood  up  in  the  drying 
room,  and  three  were  put  out  in  the  sun  till  thoroughly  dry.  Each 
sample  was  threshed,  and  the  weights  of  straw  and  chaff,  of  grain, 
and  of  a  certain  number  of  kernels,  were  ascertained  with  the  results 
found  in  the  tables.  The  tabular  results  are  each  an  average  of  three 
samples.  In  each  of  the  two  years  the  average  yield  of  grain  and 
weight  of  i^ooo  kernels  is  greatest  for  that  dried  in  the  shade  with 
heads  on,  which  indicates  that  there  is  a  transition  of  matter  from 
straw  to  grain  after  cutting,  if  the  heads  are  not  removed  and  the 
drying  is  not  too  rapid.  In  general  there  is  an  increase  in  yield  from 
the  earliest  to  the  latest  cutting.  These  results  correspond  with  those 
obtained  from  experiments  of  like  character  in  two  previous  years. 

WEIGHTS  OF  WHEAT  CUT  AT  DIFFERENT  DATES  AND  DRIED  IN  DIFFERENT  WAYS,  1891-92 


1? 

It 

Stage  of  ripeness, 
when  cut. 

Wt.  of  500  ker- 
nels, grams. 

Wt.  of  kernels  of 
200  heads  of  wheat, 
grams. 

Wt.  of  straw  andj 
chaff  of  200  culms, 
grams 

1  1 

3  <* 
'   •? 

Dried  in 
the  shade. 

?§ 

-a 

?  a 

Heads  re- 
moved. 

Irs 

|a 

&.  ~. 

CD  O 

*§!• 

to  & 

?  5' 

if 

<  a 

ft    Cft 

P-3 

Dried  in 
the  shade. 

K 

»E 

.a  5- 

1891 

June 
18 

25 

29 

1892 
June 
29 
July 

4 
13 

Kernels  mostly  in 
milk,    some    in 
dough    stage, 
lower  leaves  dry. 
Kernels  mostly  in 
dough,    leaves 
mostly     dead, 
lower     half    of 
stems  brown...  . 
Fully  ripe  .  . 

8-3 

12.3 
12.9 

8.7 

*3-4 
13 

8.5 

13 
13-1 

77-5 

114.6 
117.7 

85.6 

123.1 

120.  I 

80 

122.2 
I2O.4 

435-2 

395-6 
371-8 

441.9 

381.1 
372.6 

378.5 

378   2 
307.4 

Kernels  in    milk. 
Straw     begin- 
ning to  turn  in 
color.  . 

8.8 

9-7 
M 

9 

10 

13-9 

7-9 
8.3 

12.8 

88.6 

in.  i 
153 

104.7 

I08.I 
153-6 

85-2 

73-5 
134-8 

365  9 

388.7 
337   5 

410.4 

354-1 
330.4 

390.1 

335-1 
3oo  3 

Kernels  in  dough 

Fully  ripe  

:20 


BULLETIN    NO.    22. 


[  August,  1892.] 


RELATIVE  WEIGHTS  OF  WHEAT  CUT  AT  DIFFERENT  DATES  AND  DRIED  IN  DIFFERENT 

WAYS,  1891  AND  1892. 


Relative  wt.  [air  dry]  of 
kernels  of  100  culms  of 

Relative  wt.  [air  dry]  of 
1000  kernels. 

wheat. 

Date  of  Cutting. 

Heads 

Dried 

Dried 

Aver- 

Heads 

Dried 

Dried 

Aver- 

moved 

shade. 

in  sun. 

age- 

moved 

shade. 

in  sun. 

age. 

1891. 

June  18          .   .              

63 

65  9 

65 

64  6 

62.3 

65.2 

63 

63.5 

"    25   . 

Q3  .  I 

IOO 

99-  3 

97  -5 

91.8 

IOO 

97-4 

96.4 

"    29  

95-6 

97-5 

97.8 

97 

96.4 

97-4 

97-9 

97-2 

Average  

83-9 

87.8 

87.4 

83.5 

87.5 

86.1 

1892. 

June  29   ..    .            

57.6 

68  2 

5S  -4 

60.4 

62.1 

64. 

56.4 

61.2 

Tulv      4 

72    4 

7O    4 

47    8 

6^   <; 

6q   ^ 

71    7 

cq    3 

66  8 

13  

99-6 

IOO 

87.7 

95-8 

IOO 

99 

91.4 

96.8 

Average  

76.5 

79-5 

63.6 

77-5 

78.2 

69 

G.  E.  MORROW,  A.M.,  Agriculturist. 

FRANK  D.  GARDNER,  B.S.,  Assistant  Agriculturist. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 


